The Status Quo
by mangers
Summary: A serial killer is roaming the streets of Boston in what appears to be a direct challenge to the homicide team. In particular to Dr. Maura Isles. All in the interest of unbalancing the status quo. Can they stop the killer before the death toll rises? (Sorry, not the best summary) Rizzles-bound
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** - Okay. So, this is my first real attempt into a multi-chapter story. This is intended to be a cross-over, that is if my writing skills can do it some kind of justice (Although the others wouldn't be appearing until later on). For now it's staying in Rizzoli & Isles (Just in case. If it doesn't work out I'll try again). It is going to be as much about the case as it will be about the relationships. There may be some parts which some might find gory. Mainly just descriptions about the murders. I'm sorry if all that puts some people off, but it is a crime show after all.

As usual, neither Rizzoli & Isles nor any of it's affiliated characters belong to me. If they did... well lets not go there. Otherwise we'll end up with a fic before the fic.

* * *

Darkness. There was darkness everywhere. She tried to lift her hand to her eyes but found that it was being restrained. She tried to move her legs only to discover that they too were going nowhere. It felt like she was strapped down to a table. Panic arose swiftly inside her.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._ The only noise she could hear was the sound of her own frantic heartbeat. She tried to shout. Maybe somebody would be able to hear her. All that came out was a muffled scream. Tears began to stream down her face as she realised whoever had done this had also gagged her.

She tried to wriggle against what was holding her down, in the hopes of trying to free herself. But it was to no avail. Every movement just made it all the more tighter. There was no way out. She tried to recall what happened before she woke up like this. Being at the library studying until she realised how late it was. She remembered leaving, but then everything became a blank.

All of a sudden, lights were turned on and she closed her eyes. She must have been in the darkness longer than she thought. She could hear the overture of Carmina Burana - O Fortuna begin to play in the background. The music sent shivers of fear down her spine.

"I see that you're awake. My apologies for keeping you waiting. I would have came back earlier, however an unexpected guest had the worst timing. "

The voice was cold. It did not sound apologetic. There was no emotion. But it did sound vaguely familiar to her. She opened her eyes to see if she could identify who the voice belonged to. She looked around but couldn't see anyone. She felt the gag being removed from her mouth and she yelled in pain.

"Now let's not be having any fuss, Anna."

Her eyes went wide and she turned them towards the direction of the voice. Her heart almost stopped as she recognised the face.

"Y-y-you? W-why are you d-doing this t-to me?" she stuttered in absolute fear.

"Oh dear, don't you worry. Your death will be serving a higher purpose. Non tibi prima, nec ultimus"

She barely had time to scream before she was overcome with a warm sensation in her neck and was plunged into the darkness, for the last time.

* * *

Hot. It was far too hot in her apartment for Jane Rizzoli's liking. And it wasn't even 6am yet. She groaned and turned over in her bed, flipping her pillow over for the relief of the cool side. Only that side wasn't so much cooler. She closed her eyes, hoping to try and drift off again before her alarm decided it was time to get up. She didn't proceed very far as there was a knock at her door. _Seriously?_ she thought to herself. _Who the hell is knocking at this time?!_ She tried to ignore it, hoping whoever it was would go away. But the knocking continued, and it had also gotten the attention of Jo Friday who started to yip.

"Okay! Okay! I'm coming!" she grumbled as she dragged herself up and towards whoever was keeping her from sleeping. She crossed her living room, building herself up to give it to the person knocking. She grasped the doorknob rather harshly, yanked open the door and felt most of her annoyance evaporate instantly.

"Maura, hey." she said in a half sleepy, half surprised tone.

"Good morning Jane," the doctor beamed at her best friend, but her smile slightly fell once she took in Jane's appearance. "You forgot. Didn't you?"

"No. No. I didn't forget. I just, I slept in longer than I planned to. Come in," she stepped aside to allow Maura to walk on into her living room. Their arms brushed as she did, and Jane allowed herself to enjoy the slight tingle she felt. She shivered, and tried to maintain her composure. _Maybe Maura didn't notice. _

"You surely cannot be cold in this temperature Jane."

_Of course she noticed. She notices everything. After all, it is a part of her job. _Realising she'd been thinking and staring for too long, Jane replied "No, just shaking the sleep off. I'm far from cold. It's so hot. Do we really have to go running in this weather? I'll overheat and die."

"Jane you will not die from overheating in a run with me this morning. We will be keeping sufficiently hydrated. In fact, running in weather with higher temperatures can be quite beneficial. There are studies which show it improves the bodies ability to pump blood around our circulatory system and it's ability to control our body temperature. It also expands our blood volume and improves our ability to sweat."

"Yeah you don't say. It makes me sweat so much I look like I've just stepped out of a sauna. But Maur? Far too early for the google-mouth. Do we really have to go?" Jane whined.

"You did promise me. But I guess, you don't have to if you don't want to." Maura's face fell and she looked down to focus on her running shoes. Jane immediately felt like a total ass.

"No it's okay, I'll just go throw on my running gear. It won't take me a minute."

"Are you sure?" Maura said as she looked up with a hopeful expression in her eyes.

"Yeah. I'm sure Maur. Just give me a few minutes".

The grin Jane received made the thought of running in the hot weather bearable. She would do anything to see that look on Maura's face. She smiled back and turned towards her bedroom. _The things I would do for you_ the detective thought to herself.

* * *

**A/N - **The second chapter is in editing, so it shouldn't be too long before it's up. Please let me know what you think so far :) I am always interested in what people have to say.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** - Sorry I forgot to leave the translation at the end of the first chapter for the Latin phrase. "Non tibi prima, nec ultimus" means "You are not the first, nor the last".

Also apologies for how long this update took, there's been a lot going on in real life at the moment. And then I had technical issues which meant I lost all of my work :( No matter how much I've tried, I just can't get this chapter to flow like it did before. But I digress...

* * *

Jane and Maura returned to the detective's apartment a little before 7am. They'd ran down their favourite trail route in the park a few times and pushed each other's limits. They really were the perfect running partners. At least that's what went through the detective's mind._ She always makes me want to be better. To do better. Not just when we're running, but all the time..._

"Here Jane, you need to drink this. You need to make sure you are thoroughly hydrated. Especially after our rigorous run this morning. Otherwise you may find yourself suffering from palpitations, light-headedness and fainting spells later on."

Lost in her musings of her favourite doctor, Jane had failed to notice that Maura had poured them both glasses of water. She took her glass and their fingers brushed. Jane flashed her a smile.

"Thanks Maur," she said and she took a sip. They both stood around the kitchen area, drinking their water and looking at each other. _She's even beautiful when she's all sweaty from running_. Realising she'd been staring too long, Jane cleared her throat and placed her glass into the sink. She turned around to face Maura, but before she could say anything, the familiar buzz from both of their phones sounded on the counter top.

"Rizzoli"

"Dr. Isles"

"WHAT? Okay, I'll be there as soon as."

"Make sure nobody touches the body until I arrive. I shall be there as quickly as possible". They both hung up and Jane released a sigh of frustration.

"How the hell are we being called to a crime scene literally minutes after we've just been there? I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure I didn't see a murder whilst we were running." She began to pace up and down the kitchen area. Maura grabbed her elbow to try and alleviate the detective's anger. Jane stopped in her tracks and looked into Maura's eyes.

"Jane, you know how big the park is. And seeing as neither of us are physically capable of being omnipresent, the odds of us knowing everything that was occurring in the park this morning are exponentially against our favour."

"There were far too many big words in that sentence for me to grasp before I've even had my first coffee. I'm not even sure they were all real." Maura playfully shoved Jane away and they both smiled. In the beginnings of their friendship, the socially awkward doctor wouldn't have understood that the words were meant in friendly jest. But now, she was (as she liked to call it) 'fluent in Jane'. She learned to appreciate it. Because it made her feel like she was finally accepted._ If I was really fluent in Jane I'd know how to move us towards that next step..._

"We best get a move on. You might as well get showered here and we can get to the crime scene faster. You've still got a couple of emergency outfits in my closet. And you can use the bathroom first."

"Yes that would probably be better. Do you not want to use your shower first though Jane?" Maura enquired as she looked into the detectives eyes. Jane could feel herself grow warmer under her gaze.

"Come on Maur, you take a hell of a lot longer than I do to get ready. I could be in, out the shower and dressed ready to go before you've even finished with your lotions and potions" she smirked.

"I like to take pride in my appearance. And I don't use potions. But I can be ready quicker if the circumstances so desire. Which this one does."

"Yeah okay, we'll see."

* * *

Over half an hour later they both arrived back at the park. Although this time they were on the opposite side to where they had been on their run. They had decided to drive separately because there was no guarantee they would both be heading straight back to the station afterwards.  
Maura fetched her ME's bag that she always kept in the boot of her car and they both headed towards where they could see uniforms keeping an area secure.

"I still can't believe we were here before getting called out to this," Jane said as they walked over. "Yes, I know we didn't come down this way. But what if we had Maur?"

"Jane, it does not do well to dwell on what ifs. The best thing for us is to just keep moving forward and solve the case." They approached a uni with a clipboard.

"Rizzoli, homicide. Victor 825"

"Good morning Detective," the young officer smiled at her. His eyes lingered on her just a little too long. Maura felt the annoyance rise up within her. Not that she could blame him for staring though. She cleared her throat louder than necessary and he turned to face her.

"Dr. Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner" she said as she waved her credentials at him.

"And good morning to you too queen- err I mean Dr. Isles" His eyes widened slightly in panic as Jane swiftly turned back to him.

"You better not have been about to say what I think you were," the detective barked at him.

"N-no I-"

"Good. Because if I so much as ever even hear you breathe the words, you can count on this being the peak of your career. Do we understand each other?" She glared hard at him and he started to visibly shake. Jane almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"Y-y-yes we do. I'm s-sorry detective. It won't happen again"

"It's not me who you need to apologise to."

He turned to face Maura again. "I'm sorry Dr. Isles." Maura glanced at Jane, with an amused look in her eyes.

"I accept your apology Officer," she peered at his badge "Murray. If you'll excuse us, we have a crime scene which needs our immediate attention." She grabbed Jane's forearm and steered her towards where they could see Frost and Korsak.

"Myself whom."

The detective looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?" she said as she lifted the yellow crime scene tape for Maura to step under.

"That would have been the correct grammar. Myself whom, not me who."

"Really Maur? You're correcting my grammar? Unbelievable." She shook her head. Try as she might, she couldn't be annoyed at the medical examiner. But that didn't mean she was going to admit it. They both walked over to Frost and Korsak who were stood near a bench, where a girl was sat with her head leaning forward on her chest. Frost was trying to look anywhere and everywhere else.

"Korsak, what have got?" Jane asked the older detective.

"Morning Jane, Doc. Not much to go on at the moment. Young female, no ID. No apparent COD. At least not from what I can see. It feels like she was staged here by her killer." Korsak looked over at Jane's partner. "Frost, why don't you go and take a statement from the walker who discovered her this morning?"

"Right on it," he replied as he almost tripped over his own feet in his eagerness to get away from the body. Jane couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Meanwhile Maura had began her initial examination of the victim. The girl looked as if she'd fallen asleep, except for the deathly shade of white that her skin was exhibiting. From a distance, passers-by probably wouldn't have known she was dead.

"My first results give an estimated time of death at approximately eight to ten hours. Rigor mortis has not yet fully set in. I'll have a more accurate time for you when we get the body back to the morgue," Maura said as she peered up at the detectives behind her.

"You find a COD yet doc?" Korsak asked.

"I can see abrasions on her wrists which suggests she may have been bound before she was killed. There doesn't appear to be any other obvious signs of trauma. I do find it strange that this girl is wearing a scarf. Yesterday's weather certainly wouldn't have deemed it necessary. If she had been wearing it, she surely would have been more prone to heat stroke." She began to remove the scarf from the victim's neck. "Oh dear," she said. Jane's ears picked up.

"What is it Maur?"

"There is a rather large incision across her neck. On first observation it would seem most of her main arteries have been severed."

"I guess we've found the cause of death then," Jane muttered.

"I'll confirm the cause once I've performed the autopsy"

"I don't see any blood around here" Korsak pointed out as he began to look around the area of the bench.

"Neither do I. You said before it feels like she was staged here. I don't think this is where she died. I think the killer dropped her here. But why here on a park bench? This doesn't make any sense," Jane said.

"I'll have CSU come over and process the body. Hopefully when I've completed the autopsy I can give you some more answers." Maura began to stand back up straight, still holding onto the scarf.

"You know what else I don't understand?" Jane began, "why the killer would wrap that scarf around her neck after slashing it." She went to stand next to the ME and took hold of one end. It was made from a red, silk-like material. She turned it over and spotted some writing which looked like calligraphy. "Hey, there's something on here, but I don't recognise the language."

"Jane, it's written in Latin. It says, 'Is tantum takes unus ut turbo statua quo'" Maura said.

"And what does that mean in English?" Korsak asked.

"It means, 'It only takes one to upset the status quo.'" she answered.

"The killer's trying to send some kind of message. But to who? And why? And why write it in Latin for crying out loud? Maur, pass it on to CSU. Maybe there's a chance they'll find some prints on it". Jane turned to look back at Korsak, but something from the tree line at the edge of the park caught her eye.

"You see something Jane?" Korsak also focused his eyes in the same direction Jane was looking.

She shivered.

"Do you feel like we're being watched?"

* * *

Quiet breathing was the only sound that could be heard within the trees . A pair of binoculars was studying the scene intently. Thin lips curved up into a smile.

_I see you found my message detective. Let it begin._

* * *

**A/N** I apologise if these Latin translations are wrong, I am trusting online language services. And we all know how that can sometimes turn out...

If there's any other mistakes, forgive me. It's not long gone 6am and I've yet to get to sleep. I wanted to get this up sooner rather than later. I hope you're not disappointed with this chapter :)


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